Disposable gaiter guard

ABSTRACT

A disposable gaiter guard for use in weedwacking vegetation which is made of a single piece of thin plastic and packaged so that a user may pull one out for use and dispose of it when finished the immediate chore of weekwacking The guard is designed to protect the lower leg and instep of a user&#39;s legs and has integral strap portions which are wrapped around the leg to secure the guard thereto.

This invention relates to a disposable gaiter guard which is made ofthin plastic and comes packaged in a box similar to plastic trash bags.The guard is for use when operating flexible or rigid weed trimmingequipment. The guard is made out of single layer plastic film which hasportions extending therefrom to act as ankle and knee ties to secure theguard to the lower leg of a user. As the guard becomes coated with grassstains and other vegetable matter it is simply disposed of after use andthe next time a user of the equipment initiates a weed trimmingoperation, he or she just pulls one from the carton and ties it to theleg.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

With the advent of weed wackers or trimmers in the 1970s people began tonotice that their bare legs or trousers were often times coated withvegetable, plant, dirt and other sort of matter resulting from operatingeither a rigid blade weed trimmer or a flexible line trimmer. Variousattempts were made to remedy this situation which resulted in severalprotective devices.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,199,217 is one such device. It shows a protective legsock which has an upper cuff 60 around the top thereof and into which anelastic cord is adapted to pass allowing a user to tie the sock up belowthe knee. The sock is vented by grommets 90 and have a lower elasticring 30 which keeps the lower portion of the sock tight around the ankleportion of a user. Bias tape 50 is sewn around the bottom of the sockand the sock is constructed of four mil diamond embossed plastic filmwhich keeps the grass from sticking. This is important as the sock isdesigned to be repeatedly worn by a user and not discarded after everyuse. A spring based barrel closure acts to keep the cord tight aroundthe upper leg.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,970,525 shows a leg guard which is designed to preventmechanically propelled objects from impacting on a persons lower legand/or being deposited in their footwear. It consists of protectivematerial such as foam rubber, heavy canvas or rubber having a series ofstraps with Velcro thereon designed to secure the guard to the front andsides of a wearer's leg.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,940,881 shows apparatus for protecting the limbs of awearer. The apparatus consists of two or more anthropometrically shapedpanels which are formed from sheets that are both flexible and able tomaintain their shape. This is a form of “body armor” and is designedprimarily to protect the wearer from injury, not from flying plantmatter. The panels have an outer layer of canvas of between 10 and 24ounces weight and the inner panel is formed of “duck” material. Theapparatus, as it is called, is a permanent item designed to be wornrepeatedly.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,143,762; 5,375,262; 6,210,352 and 6,272,688 showvarious forms of limb protectors but are not close in form, function ordesign to the instant invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is designed with several ideas in mind. The Firstis simplicity, which is afforded by a one-piece design having tieportions as part of the overall plastic body of the device. These tiessimple allow the user to tie it on.

The second idea in mind was to have something that could beinexpensively produced so that it could be affordable to all users ofweed trimming equipment. Commercial users of the equipment cannot affordto clean costly leg protectors each and every day and the employeesthereof cannot afford to wash their work clothes every day. Weed andgrass and general plant matter both sticks and stains, rendering clothesunusable after a few smattering work outs with a weed eater. Thus, thepresent invention is designed to be produced like trash bags on anassembly of cutting plastic film and packaged in a box similar to trashbags or tissues where on merely pulls the next one out and disposes ofit after use. As the guards are attached to one another as a result ofthe manufacturing process, one simply pulls one out and the force of thepull rips the one being pulled from the next one in the box.

The third idea in mind was to have something disposable as one does notwant to spend time cleaning permanent type guards or socks after eachuse. After many uses such guards and socks would become worthless as thebuild up would accumulate too much without intensive cleaning after eachuse.

The present invention uses the same film plastic as used in plastictrash bags and i it can vary somewhat in thickness depending on whethera commercial user is going to wear it all day or the use is just ahomeowner going out for his weekly battle with the weeds. The device canbe tied above or below the knee depending on personal preferences andcan be made in several sizes if desired. Basically there would be asmall and large size which tends to fit the men and women users.

As an alternative to just tying the ties they can be slotted whichallows for the slots to interact to protect a simple hooking function insecuring the tie ends together. Another alternative is to have an “eye”or slit formed in one of the tie pairs thus allowing one tie end to bepassed through the “eye” or slit to secure the ties. Alternatively, a“zip strip” securement could be used to secure the tie ends.

To keep the flap portion of the device atop the users foot or shoe, glueor spot glue can be provided on the flap so as to insure coverage of theshoe and to keep plant matter from being deposited thereon. Tostrengthen the flap portion ribs can be provided in the portion to keepthe flap in place over the shoe.

The material of the device can be low density polyethylene, high densitypolyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene Terephthalate, as well asother plastics. The thickness of the device can be from 1 mil to 100 milbut is most preferably in the 0.85 to 5 mil range. The material can beprovided with small holes or perforations to allow allow release ofmoisture from the user's leg. The holes can be any shape. The plastic ofthe device can be clear, colored or printed in a pattern. Any color canbe used. As the guard must fit a variety of leg sizes, it can be made inmany sizes. It could be “one size fits all” or be in small, medium,large and extra large sizes. The extensions used to tie the device tothe user's shoe or ankle and leg can vary in length depending on theelasticity of the material chosen. The extensions or ties should be longenough for the user to tie them in front of their leg and/or ontop oftheir shoe. This allows the user to see the knots they are tying.

The guards can be packaged in many ways which is incident to theirmethod of production. The guards can be manufactured like trash orgrocery bags and remain connected at various points.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a disposableleg guard for use in wearing when operating weed trimming equipment andother mechanical equipment which results in plant matter being thrownthrough the air, and

It is another object of this invention to provide an inexpensive legguard for use in operating a weed trimmer, and

It is still another object of this invention to provide a guard devicewhich limits The amount of debris which impacts a person's leg whenusing a rotary trimmer to cut weeds or grass, and

A further object of this invention is to provide a leg guard which isformed of one piece of plastic film, and

A still further object of this invention is to provide a leg guard madeof plastic film from 2 to 5 mil thick which is disposable and can bepackaged still attached to one another in a disposable box.

These and other objects of the invention will become apparent whenreference is had to the accompany drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is partial view of a leg of a wearer showing the guard in place.

FIG. 2 shows the guard of this invention in plan view with the four tiesextending therefrom.

FIG. 3 shows diagrammatic view of the guard ties being secured above andbelow the knee and ankle.

FIG. 4 is a view of the guard in plan view with zip strip securement.

FIG. 5 is shows the show portion of the guard with alternateapplications of glue or sticky sealing.

FIG. 6 shows the guard in plan view with an eye and thread connectiontie pair.

FIG. 7 shows guard ties with match slots.

FIG. 8 shows the foot portion of the guard with ribs.

FIG. 9 shows shows a side view of a display pack with tabs fordispensing the guards.

FIG. 10 shows the box pack of FIG. 9 with the pull tab and the tissuebox like closure.

FIG. 11 shows various configurations of the means to dispense the guard.

FIG. 12 shows the foot portion or thigh portion of the guard as beingable to be torn off when not desired.

Referring now to FIG. 1 there is shown the guard 10 secured onto a usersleg. The main portion of the guard 11 covers the calve area and theties, such as at 12 and 13, secure the guard to the leg below the kneeand above the ankle. A foot portion 14 extends over the front of thewearer's shoe or foot,

FIG. 2 shows the guard 10 with ties 12 and 13 and some general overalldimensions. As can be seen, the guard tapers down from the knee area tothe ankle area so as to more fully conform to the leg of the user. Thedimensions shown are general in nature and show the relationship of theties to the main body 11 of the guard 10 and it is understood that thesedimensions can be altered.

FIG. 3 shows the users leg with the guard 10 tied above the knee andaround the ankle and below the knee and across the instep of the user'sfoot.

FIG. 4 shows the guard 10 with zip strip fasteners 14, 15 on ties 12 and13. Another way of securing the ties would be to use the eye 16 andthread 17 arrangement of FIG. 6 or the matching slots 18, 19 of FIG. 7.Such slots merely interlock with one another to secure the ties.

In FIG. 5 there is shown the section 14 with glue spot applicationsthereon so that the portion can adhere to the top of the shoe of thewearer to keep it from blowing up. In this vein, flap 14 can have ribsas shown in FIG. 8 which keep the portion 14 stiff and atop the shoe orfoot. If the portion 14 is not desired, the device can have perforationssuch as 20 in FIG. 12 to allow the user to rip it off and discard it.When this is done an additional tie strip 21 is employed as shown tosecure the end of the device to the shoe of the wearer. In FIG. 12, theupper portion 22 of the device is adapted to secure the device to thethigh of the user. This configuration can also have the thigh portionripped off by tearing the lower portion along perforations 23.

FIG. 15 shows the side view of a display pack 100 that allows the userto pull it out on tab 101 which pulls up the next guard for use in afashion similar to that used in grocery stores. The guards are attachedin the same manner as grocery bags and rip off when tab 101 is engaged.Alternatively, the guards can be packaged in a tissue like box 103, asshown in FIG. 10, which allows the guards to be packaged 8 to 10 to abox. There is a tab 104 to allow the user to start pulling the guardsfrom the box and a slot 105 which allows egress from the box. FIG. 11shows various configurations of how the guards could be packaged in abox B. They can be in roll form as shown as 110 and removed one at atime from the box, or folded as at 111 and torn at a perforation as theyare removed or, they can be in one large roll as at 1 12 and torn off atthe perforation.

FIG. 9A shows a box 120, much like a tissue box, although larger, whichcan have a slot like 121 and through which one pulls guards such as 122out. The guards 122 are stacked in the box like tissues. Alternately,the box may have a tight aperture 123 through which one pulls guardssuch as 124 out the end of the boy like some wipe boxes.

Having described various embodiments of the invention it will be obviousto those of ordinary skill in the art that many changes andmodifications can be made without departing from the scope of theappended claims.

1. a disposable leg guard, said guard comprising a main portionconfigured to surround a wearer's leg, a first pair of opposed tie meanscontiguous with said main portion and extending oppositely therefrom soas to engage a wearer's leg in the knee region, a second pair of opposedtie means spaced from said first pair of tie means and extendingoppositely therefrom so as to engage a wearer's leg in the ankle region,said second pair of opposed tie means being contiguous with the mainportion of said guard, whereby the guard is one piece and can bediscarded after use:
 2. A guard as in claim 1 wherein both said tiemeans includes eye and thread means.
 3. A guard as in claim 1 whereinboth said tie means includes slotted portions.
 4. A guard as in claim 1wherein both said tie means includes zip strips.
 5. A guard as in claim1 wherein said guard has a foot portion extending from said main portionso as to cover a wearer's foot.
 6. A guard as in claim 5 wherein saidfoot portion has ribbed areas thereon for strengthening the portion tomaintain it atop the foot when the guard is worn.
 7. A guard as in claim5 wherein said foot portion has glue areas thereon adapted to engage thetop of a wearer's foot to maintain it atop the foot when the guard isworn.
 8. A guard as in claim 1 and including a thigh portion extendingalong the center line of the main portion and having a third pair ofoppositely extending tie means thereon for engaging a wearer's thigh. 9.A guard as in claim 1 and including perforated sections in said mainsection whereby a portion of the guard may be ripped from the remainderand not used.
 10. A guard as in claim 1 wherein said guard and ties aremade from one piece of thin film plastic.
 11. A guard as in claim 10wherein said plastic is from 0.85 to 5 mils thick.
 12. A guard as inclaim 11 wherein said plastic is low density polyethylene.
 13. A box ofdisposable plastic leg guards, said box comprising a plurality ofdisposable plastic leg guards, each guard having at least two pair ofoppositely extending contiguous tie means for securing the guard to thewearer's knee and ankle regions, a box structure for containing saidplurality of leg guards, and a tab means for allowing a user to pull oneguard from the box at a time.
 14. A box as in claim 13 wherein said legguards are all made from one contiguous piece of plastic and are stillattached in places, and removal of one by a user allows it to be severedfrom the remaining guards in the box.
 15. A box as in claim 14 whereinsaid guards are in a folded configuration.
 16. A box as in claim 14where said guards are in a rolled configuration.
 17. A guard as in claim1 wherein said guard has a plurality of air holes therein to provideventing for the leg of a wearer.
 18. A guard as in claim 1 wherein saidguard has a design imprinted thereon.
 19. A guard as in claim 1 whereinsaid guard is made of high density polyethylene.
 20. A guard as in claim1 wherein said guard is made of polyvinyl chloride.
 21. A box as inclaim 14 and wherein said guards are in a folded configuration and thebox has an aperture therein through which one pulls the guards out oneat a time.
 22. A box as in claim 21 wherein said aperture is elongatedand the guards are pulled out the top of the box.
 23. A box as in claim21 wherein said aperture is circular and the guards are pulled out theend of the box.